Indiana Cosmetology Law, Rules, and Professional Ethics
The regulatory frame
Esthetics in Indiana sits under IC 25-8 and the rules at 820 IAC 2, administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency with the State Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners. The pathway: complete a board-approved esthetics program (Indiana sets the clock-hour requirement in rule, commonly 700 hours), pass the state written and practical examinations, apply to the PLA, and pay the fee. You must work in a licensed shop, display your license, and stay inside the esthetics scope: skin care, makeup, waxing and other approved hair-removal services, and related client services. Diagnosing, prescribing, injecting, or cutting living tissue is never inside that scope.
Conduct the board disciplines
Unlicensed practice, letting an unlicensed person perform services, sanitation violations found on inspection, false statements on an application, practicing beyond scope, and unprofessional conduct are all grounds for discipline under IC 25-1-11 - reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, or civil penalty.
Ethics in practice
Obtain informed consent, keep client records confidential, refuse or modify a service when a contraindication exists, describe pricing and product claims honestly, and refer medical findings instead of treating them.
Worked example
A regular client asks you to "just snip off" a skin tag on her neck with sanitized cuticle nippers. Reasoning: removing tissue is a medical act that no esthetics license authorizes, and a nick can bleed or become infected. Decline, explain your scope, and refer her to a dermatologist.
Traps
Assuming an out-of-state license transfers automatically; assuming a license covers any device or peel; treating a condition you "diagnosed"; failing to display the license; describing yourself as a medical provider.